Laying the foundation
I am so tempted to just start sharing my thoughts on a variety of topics.
But I want the things I share and the discussions that take place here to be different than the knee jerk reaction, say-whatever-comes-to-mind, comments that are all too common.
It’s supposed to be about fighting my own confirmation bias, not just ranting about something in support of what I already believe.
I want this to be about getting to the root of the discussion.
For example, say a group of people are ranting back and forth about the Palestinian-Isreali conflict.
What is it that drives these conversations?
We can all be very passionate and sometimes about things happening a world away from us.
Where does that zeal for something so seemingly irrelevant to our daily lives come from?
Are we expressing something deeper about ourselves when we get fired up about these things?
How do I go about creating a structure that allows for and nourishes more constructive meaningful conversations?
MindOpenWhy 
The perfect is the enemy of the good. You cannot have a perfect discussion. So, can you be informative? Persuasive? Can some positive come out of a discussion about that conflict?
Humans have a need for purpose, and when we aren’t sure what it is, we create one. Maybe right now, someone feels their purpose is to persuade others around them to join their side, their opinion on the Middle East conflict. Maybe they feel that one side better fits with their religion, and they think that offering up their arguments supports their own religious calling.
Can you put boundaries on how people express themselves and think about things, and have a positive benefit result from that? Where do you draw the line between necessary rules and freedom of expression?
Jason Beck
May 26, 2011 at 11:42 am